Revised Shoppers plan finds middle ground

Revised Shoppers Drug Mart

(PETERBOROUGH) A revised site plan for a new Shoppers Drug Mart is hoped to resolve concerns for the new downtown development.
The re-vamped plan for the store, which will go up at the corner of Charlotte and Aylmer streets, has some of the parking shifted behind the building, and offers a larger buffer between the street and parking lot.
A staff report released by the City on Friday (Feb. 15), highlights various changes made to the plan after Shoppers Drug Mart representative met with a handful of community members earlier in the week to gather input and address concerns.
The most notable change is the altered layout of the building to allow for a longer storefront and a smaller parking lot visible from the street. In the previous plan, parking was previously placed to the side of the store, with the parking lot facing Aylmer Street. It’s now shifted, with a smaller parking lot to the side and a strip of parking behind the building. Overall, two parking spaces were lost with the move. The size of the side parking lot has decreased from 37 to 16 parking spaces, with another 19 spaces behind the building.
To accommodate the change, which adds another 40 feet of storefront along Charlotte Street, Shoppers Drug Mart has altered the layout of the store, which representatives previously noted was nearly impossible to do. The storage and shipping and receiving sections of the store were moved from the back of the building to the side facing Bethune Street. The storage area is two-storeys to allow for more room.
With the new plan, drivers can enter the parking lot from both Aylmer and Bethune streets.
To reduce the visual impact of a parking lot along Charlotte Street, the site plan also includes an increased buffer of more than 20 feet between the property line and parking lot. The front entrance of the building is still at the front of the store, but has moved to closer to the Aylmer Street side of the building to allow easy access from the parking lot. According to the report, shifting the entrance, which was previously closer to Bethune Street, is hoped to encourage pedestrians to cross the street at traffic lights.
Malcolm Hunt, director of planning for the City, says Shoppers Drug Mart has broken its conventional way of laying out the store, which is the most fundamental change in the site plan.
“The building is about 40 feet wider,” he says. “This was a strong preference from the community.”
Mr. Hunt also notes Shoppers Drug Mart is open to ideas for landscaping at the corner of Charlotte and Aylmer streets, in addition to plans to restore the boulevard at the Bethune Street corner, subject to City approval.
“I think there have been huge, huge changes here,” says Mr. Hunt.
The revised plan will go up for approval at a Special Planning Committee meeting on Feb. 19.